The Bill Comes Due
by web of light
Summary: Steve Rogers has created an alternate Timeline where he lives out his life with Peggy. Unfortunately, his decision comes with a painful price. His life there was happy, except for one thing. This story accepts the Russos description of time travel in Avengers Endgame. Steve Rogers's life in the past took place in an alternate timeline. One-Shot. Complete


Steve banged his fist hard against the wall, leaving a dent.

He was here. I know he was here, and I missed him! Again!

He rubbed his hand. He wasn't immune to physical pain, but the emotional pain born from frustration overshadowed the bloody scrapes on his fingers. The plan was perfect. Steve learned a lot from his trip to Russia. Bucky wasn't there, he was out carrying out some despicable operation for his masters, but he discovered their future plans. That brought him here, but once again, the Ghost slipped through his fingers, almost as if he knew he was searching for him. This was the fifth time.

He hit the wall again. Peggy and the others never asked what he was doing on these little side trips. He didn't tell them; he didn't want to get their hopes up, not Peggy's, not the rest of the Commandoes. They trusted the man Steve Rogers.

Steve Rogers. That's how they knew him here. Not Captain America. That man was still asleep and long years from now they would find him and he would become the Captain America this timeline needed but until then, there was just him. Plain Steve Rogers who lived his quiet life doing good, with Peggy, with the others, but never calling attention to himself. By the time Captain America woke up, Steve Rogers would be gone.

"The bill always comes due," said a voice behind him. Steve's instincts went on high alert, and for a moment he wished for his shield, but he didn't use it anymore, not here. Turning he saw a shadowy figure at the end of the alley. He couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but an aura of calm flowed toward him. He accepted he was not in any danger, but something told him this person could be very dangerous if he or she wanted to be.

"Who are you?" he asked. A light glowed from the presence, forcing him to blink and hold his hand in front of his eyes.

"Someone who knows what you did," the voice said. His eyes adjusted to the brightness, and he lowered his hands. The figure came closer. "And we know why." Are you telling me I made a mistake? I should go back?" He asked.

"What's done is done," the voice said. "But in coming here, you made a choice. You can have one thing, but not the other."

Steve pondered over the cryptic words for a moment, then a hard realization hit him.

"You're saying that here and now, I can have Peggy, but not Bucky."

"There's always a price to pay when you interfere with time. My coming here is a courtesy to you. You are doing much good in the world, but this, what you are doing now, is a lost cause."

"I can't leave him to Hydra! He's being tortured…"

"We know, and we are sorry, but turn your attention to what you can do, not waste it on what you can't."

"Are you saying there's no hope for him?"

"I didn't say that. There are things you can do to make sure those who come after you know of his situation. This, doing nothing will not be easy for you, it will be one of the hardest things for you to accept, but you have accepted hard things before. That makes you who you are. Yes, it will hurt when you think of him, of his situation, but that is the price for coming here and doing this. Go home, and live your life and save the world, in your own way, Steven Rogers."

The light disappeared, and the person was gone.

There was a finality to the words. By coming here, he did something for solely himself, and in doing that, others paid a price. He let out one long cry of frustration and hit the wall again, cursing at the entity who insisted on telling him a severe truth. He knew himself, he would have let this thing with Bucky become an obsession and would allow it to take over. There was much he could fix in the world, and it was hard to accept there was one thing that he couldn't. He walked back down to the end of the alley, back to the real world. He needed to get home. Peggy was waiting.

-0000-

He sat down at the side of her grave. The moment had arrived. Even though he was aging, the doctors told him he could look forward to many more long years. Captain America was awake. Steve and Peggy had long since retired, everyone else from that time was gone, and Peggy had drifted in and out of lucidity until she passed. He avoided the man so no one else made the connection between Steve Rogers, the private citizen who worked in the shadows, and Steve Rogers, Captain America, the super-soldier. He lived a good life here with Peggy and there was much here he still loved, but to remain meant Bucky would never be free of his chains. Once more, he had to pay a price.

-000-

He had the Pym particles, a new GPS and a new shield. He remembered it would only be a few seconds for the people in the other timeline, and Bucky was just coming out of his darkness. He closed his eyes and imagined seeing him and Sam again and wondered how they would react. He mentioned passing the mantle of Captain America onto Bucky and he refused. He had too many memories to deal with, and to his surprise, told him Sam could do it. The two men had come to some kind of understanding since they awoke from the Snap and Steve hoped it would continue, but he was right. Sam was the perfect choice.

SHIELD helped Steve Rogers, AKA as Captain America adjust to his new life. They gradually introduced him to the new technology and all the history he slept through. At first, it was overwhelming, and unbelievable, and sad. He mourned everyone he ever knew but couldn't believe it when they told him Peggy was still alive. They warned him of her condition, but he insisted on seeing her. The visits were healing and painful.

A health care worker at the facility where Peggy lived gave him a box full of mementos of their time together during the war. Pictures, letters, medals… all of it good and wholesome memories. He was in his room, holding up a picture of him and Bucky when his new friend Sam showed up.

"Hey man! A time capsule!" Sam picked up one of the medals to admire it. "Look at his stuff! What are you going to do with it?"

"I don't know. Give it to the museum…" He moved aside a few pictures to see a letter addressed to Steven Rogers, Captain America. He idly picked it up, thinking it was something from Peggy. Maybe a good by letter after his 'death'. He knew she lived a full life without him, but there was a time when she was grieving. Sam noticed his hesitation.

"You going to read that?"

Steve smiled at him and broke the seal. The letter was typed.

-Bucky is alive. Just as you were frozen in time so was he, but his life didn't work out as well as yours. He needs your help. They call him the Winter Soldier. Tell no one about this. They wouldn't believe you if you did. -

There was no signature. He broke out into a sweat and his hands felt clammy. Was this someone's idea of a sick joke? But why? For what purpose? He was there when Bucky fell from the train...although no one actually saw his body, could he have survived…

"You going to tell me what that says?" Sam asked.

Steve frowned to himself, then folded the letter back into the envelope. He didn't know if he could accept the cryptic message; it was so unbelievable, but then he, himself being alive here and now was just as unbelievable, so maybe there was something to it. If there was any hope of this being true, he would find out. It meant Bucky was still here, his childhood friend, his confidant, the man who was at one time his everything, someone who remembered the things he remembered... but the warning made sense. He couldn't say anything about this. No one here would believe him.

"No," Steve said throwing the letter back into the box in what he hoped was a casual manner. "I don't believe I will."

Sam didn't seem to take offense at Steve's refusal to share but continued to dig into the box. Steve watched him for a moment, remembering their instant connection and how glad he was to find someone like him in this strange new world.

"Did I ever tell you about my friend, Bucky Barnes?" Steve asked, picking up the picture again. He needed to lay the foundation for his quest so it wouldn't come as a surprise to Sam. For the first time since he woke up, a small spark of something ignited within him. If this was true, nothing would get in the way of him saving his old friend and he could think of no better way of doing it, with his new friend beside him.

He stared at the picture. Memories of Bucky came flooding back, the hard pain of losing him was still fresh. He pondered over the mysterious author of the note. Not Peggy, she would have signed it. Maybe one of the Howling Commandoes stumbled across the truth and couldn't risk saying more. He would probably never find out, but he thanked this unknown person for giving him a reason to exist in this strange new life.


End file.
